Now that's what you call brand loyalty! Pair sit at the head of the queue for Apple's iPad 3 five days before it goes on sale

There are still five days to go before Apple launches the latest version of its hugely-popular iPad in the UK.

But that hasn't stopped two eager customers setting up camp outside the Apple store on London's Regent Street in anticipation of the release.

The two men decided to beat the inevitable queues by heading to the central London store way before the March 16 release date.

Laying in wait: Apple fan Zohaib is first in the queue for the iPad 3 [right] and his friend Ali [left] is second - they both have four days until the iPad is launched at the Apple store on Regent Street in London

Zohaib, who is first in the queueand his friend Ali brought portable chairs and bags of supplies along for their stint outside the store.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

It all began this morning, and will end on Friday by which time they will have spent five days on the pavement outside the shop.

The highly-anticipated device will be available later this week and priced from $499-$829 (£399-£659) - the same range as the iPad 2, which the technology giant launched a year ago.

The tablet will be powered by a super fast quad-core A5x chip, putting Apple's tablet ahead of competitors such as Samsung.

Pipping everyone to the post: The duo will become the first people to grab a new iPad when the device is launched on Friday

It will also offer a high speed 4G LTE
network connection in territories with 4G - in the U.S., it will be
available on both the AT&T and Verizon wireless networks. The
network is not yet available in the UK.

Demonstrations
at the launch showed off the power of 4G, with videos that played from
the web near-instantly - but British consumers will miss out.

4G networks have yet to roll out in
the UK, with even optimistic projections putting the launch at the end
of the year, by which time, Apple will no doubt be on the verge of
launching another iPad.

Innovation: Apple CEO Tim Cook, who took over the job from Steve Jobs after his death last year, introduces the new iPad last week

Others have questioned whether the
British 4G connection, using portions of the old analogue TV spectrum,
will even work with the American device.

Despite this, Apple claims the battery lasts 10 hours and the device is just 9.4mm thick.

'Who will come out with a product that's more amazing than the iPad 2?' Apple CEO Tim Cook asked the audience at the San Francisco launch event. 'Stop wondering - we are'.

The screen, a larger version of the screen in iPhone 4s, is sharper than most 40-inch HD televisions.

Apple claims that the screen resolution is so sharp words on screen are sharper than words in print.

The new iPad also offers a 5 megapixel iSight camera which can record video in full HD.

Mr Cook said: 'We are taking it to a whole new level and are redefining the category that Apple created with the original iPad'.

Advertisement

Share or comment on this article:

iPad 3 release date: Pair sit at head of queue for Apple's new iPad for 5 days before it goes on sale